About the Artist

Ellie is a Lincoln based artist with a love for chaotic watercolours and digital art. Their work ranges from the whimsical to the surreal, with cheerful line and wash sketches and expressive watercolour pieces centred around heavier themes. Their art captures the things that are not easy to express in words, whether funny or serious. They aim for a sense of energy and movement to their pieces, so splattered paint and dynamic compositions are common elements.

Ellie became a professional artist through unusual means. Before the pandemic they were an actor and producer working the tour guide circuit to make ends meet. They also made social media content for a company called The Adventure is Real (or TAIR). They were an enthusiastic hobby artist and were working hard on their art skills in their free time.

When lockdown hit, they lost 3 tour guide jobs and gained their first art job within 24 hours. TAIR decided to make an online game that people could play in lockdown, and they wanted to make it within 2 weeks. They needed a digital artist quickly, so Ellie put their hand up and said they could do that, and thus began a 2 and a half year job as TAIR’s chief artist. 

The game TAIR created ‘Agent Venture’ sold out and has since had over 10,000 players. Ellie went on to be the sole artist on 5 titles for TAIR. During those 2 and a half years, Ellie designed everything from the company logo, to fantasy mediaeval monk illuminations, to detailed game maps. They were also given dedicated learning time as part of their contract, and thus they were able to sharpen their skills. 

This trial by fire made them the artist they are today, and drawing such an extensive range of subject matter in so many different styles solidified their own style and made them comfortable with more unusual projects.

When not painting Ellie can be found planting too many vegetables in the garden, playing dungeons and dragons, or dressed up in fantasy gear doing field LARPs.